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Because it wants to, Buick is headed upmarket. Because it has to, Cadillac is headed downmarket. Who wins? Not GM. An Epsilon II, FWD/AWD Cadillac isn’t going to have the phrase “standard of the world” tripping off anyone’s tongue. And since GM exists at the pleasure of the politicians, it doesn’t seem likely that Cadillac will ever get around to making the huge investments in opulence that it would need to regain its former glory. And besides an aging CTS and a “2005 called and wants its SUV back” Escalade, what is Cadillac again? Some days it’s a good day to die. Some days it’s a good day to record a podcast.
19 Comments on “Daily Podcast: Converjence...”
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Replacing the DTS is a good idea. A more-than-full-size AWD sedan is a good idea.
Basing that range-topper off the same platform as will underpin the Chevy Malibu, eventually, is not a good idea. Where’s the sixteen-cylinder, in-your-face, f___-you super-sedan that’ll remove our collective smirk when we say “Such and such is the Cadillac of Whatsits”.
Exactly what is the point of having Cadillac and Buick in the same space? I ask because it obviously worked so well to have Saturn, Chevy and Pontiac fighting for oxygen.
Converg[j]ence? I hate it when I don’t get the joke.
Cadillac is dead, GM just won’t admit it. Move the CTS to Buick (as Buick dealers will have GMC to keep them in business) and get it over with.
Strippo: the Cadivolt concept pictured above is named Converj.
Ah. That sounds familiar, yet I’m actually comforted that I didn’t retain that tidbit.
I think Cadillac will be around along time and while you can poke fun at GM ,they deserve it.
The BIG 3 still provide more jobs for Americans then all the foreign automakers combined that have assembly plants in the U.S.
This is why the feds stepped in to help them.
GM should keep Cadillac around, and if it’s only as a placeholder until they can afford to develop another big luxury car.
In the long term, Cadillac should only build two cars: One S-Class/7-Series/A8 competitor and a coupe based on that platform. Although they might also wanna keep the CTS…
Buick should do everything short of a big luxury car. I don’t think it’s that big a deal if they overlap at some point (i.e. with the CTS). I mean it’s not a big problem for Toyota/Lexus or VW/Audi either. These cars are for quite different demographics and cannibalization is minimal.
What is a problem though is when they build two virtually identical Epsilon II cars. That’s repeating the same old mistakes and it’s diluting the brands.
A Volkswagen Passat and an Audi A4 might be in similar segments, but they’re so different that hardly anyone would cross shop them. Unless GM can do the same with their individual brands and cars, they simply shouldn’t do it in the first place.
Buick must die…..no one under 50 will even notice when it does.
Or GM should invest billions in some radical genetic/stem cell research so that current Buick buyers (average age 60-ish, right?) will live another 30 years.
The new mics are a long overdue, this podcast sounds great!
Why replace the DTS? I thought that was a solid vehicle as it was their largest and better-riding. It does need a styling update!
The STS, however, needs to go. While it did get the STS-V option, it was less-comfortable and less-roomier than the CTS even though it’s a slightly larger car. The STS also rides like crap.
I think Buick has some amazing interior styling happening in their two products, especially the LaCrosse.
And there’s nothing wrong with making an oafy SUV, especially in a high-end product line. There will always be folks wanting to purchase these. The problem is the number of units in production that isn’t reacting appropriately to the current market.
With Pontiac gone, Buick will also be venturing downmarket. As usual GM doesn’t have the entire flock flying in the same direction.
The best thing for the taxpayer would be for GM to sell Buick to the Chinese while the going is still good for Buick in China (nothing lasts forever). The Chinese can then market Buicks in the US, if they so choose, any way they want (full lux, entry-lux, whatever).
GM should then restyle the LaX and Enclave and move them to Cadillac as the LTS and TRX respectively. Big American boats like the STS and DTS are a dead end (look at sales). Instead, buyers wanting comfort are buying Lexus ES-class cars. EpII plays well into this trend.
Forget the Germans. GM has never been strong on all fronts all the time competing there. Cadillac should instead carve out a niche: entry-lux prices, gadgets, cool styling and comfort. Leave a nice price gap between Chevy and Cadillac to keep Cadillac desirable.
Bottomline: Buick or Cadillac in NA, not both.
Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac…..
There’s so much parts bin interchange there IS no brand exclusivity on anything. For example: That freakin 3 spoke steering wheel used on a gazillion models from Saturn to Corvette.
Dump the names and call them by their models.
The GM Mailbu, The GM LaCrosse, the GM DTS, etc.
Think of the savings right there!
Slateslate Do you realize how many car buyers there are in the US that are over 50 with money to spend.
Cadillac and Buick BOTH need to move upmarket. GM already has a perfectly good, US ready RWD platform ready to go (G8 anyone) that could be restyled into an upmarket Caddy. Heck, it even has a LWB version available. Buick can stay FWD while Caddy keeps the RWD and AWD and performance models. Keep Buick in the $30-45k range and Cadillac in the $40-65k range.
And why does Buick have a larger crossover than Cadillac? makes no sense.
Do you realize how many car buyers there are in the US that are over 50 with money to spend.
The problem is that by the time people reach Buick age (which, let’s be serious, is more like 60 or 70, if not older) they’re not buying more cars. Boomers have issues with the concept of aging, and are as such lost to Buick no matter what. There is no way you’ll get a fifty-year old into a Buick or Lincoln; you’d stand a better chance getting a Gen-X’er behind the wheel.
The problem there is that anyone below the Boomer mark is not considering Buick because they’ve been chased out of GM’s stable long, long ago: either by poor-quality GM entry-level cars, or by their parent’s experience. As nice as Buick is, they won’t care.
GM needs, more than anything, competitive entry-level products that young people will buy so that they’ll come back and buy a higher-margin car like a Buick in 10 or more years. They’ve already lost two generations, possibly three, for Buick and Cadillac. Put the money into Chevrolet and try and get new buyers.
This was Lutz’ chief failing. For all the car-guy bluster, he didn’t seem to understand that if you want to get buyers into showrooms and keep them there, you have to do it when they’re young—likely because he was an old dude himself. And right now, GM’s torch-bearers for entry-level and new-family cars run the gamut from really bad to just average.
Whether its buick or Cadillac, GM has got to get smarter. They just released the new SRX with a shit less power than the previous generation and its a lot slower. The 300HP engine is optional.
are they kidding?
You need no less than 300HP for a car that heavy.
GM needs the Chinese market otherwise they are to small to survive. That is why they need Buick in the US. If they close Buick in America they are toast in 20 years
If Caddy going forward can not be the best or even competitive in power, handling, speed, or size then all that is left is value and style. Value is more of a Chevy attribute and Buick seems to be making the most stylish GM vehicles. If Cadillac must share platforms with Chevy and Buick it should at least push the styling envelop further than its stablemates.
I am so glad the podcasts are back. A lot of fun to listen to, but I must disagree with the position on “small” cars today and who would want to drive them. I live in Los Angeles, land of the gridlocked freeways, and I am the proud owner of a Smart. Thanks to YSE, I am also the owner of an Arnage T (It does not make for a comical garage.) I’ve owned a lot of cars and the Arnage is the most wonderfully obscene machine I have ever owned. Every time I step on the accelerator a small portion of New York City moves underwater. It is an amazing freeway cruiser for trips to San Diego, great for date night. But taking the HMS Bentley out of the garage to go a mile to the store and direct it around a parking lot can be a chore – I am sure the sympathetic violins are playing for me. For daily use, the Smart does exactly what it is supposed to do and puts a smile on my face. On top of that, I average out to the carbon footprint of a Hummer.